Just Talking
by ValleyOfDeath
Summary: Stein returns to his home to find Maka waiting for him, wanting to talk to him. When he pokes fun at her he learns something interesting... Stein/Maka fluff. One-shot. Just wrote it to see if I could...


Dr. Franken Stein is walking to his house, his hands in his pockets, smoking a cigarette. He is walking home from teaching at the DWMA, where the regular dose of crazy Black*Star and Spirit had ruined his mood. He growls as he turns the screw in his head counter-clockwise, a little because he was starting to drift off into his thoughts again and mostly because he didn't want to remember Black*Star's ranting. It gave him a headache just thinking about it.

When he arrived he was pleased to see Marie was nowhere in sight. He liked her, sure, but her constant cheerful manner was so annoying. He went into his room and took off his coat, draping it on a chair and pulled off his shirt, throwing it into the corner of the room. "Damn, I'm tired." He started for his bed when he heard the door handle turn and the sound of the door opening.

"Professor?" Stein turns around and sees someone he's actually glad to see. Standing there is a girl, age of thirteen. Her ash-blond hair is formed into two pigtails flowing down and falling over her shoulders. Her olive-green eyes shine with knowledge and wisdom, even at her young age. She wears her usual attire, save her black trench coat.

"Ah, hello Maka. Was there something you needed?" Stein asked in his monotone voice. It was then that he noticed she was blushing. This did not compute with Stein. There was no reason for her to be embarrassed, or shy. They had talked alone in his room quite a few times, although usually they had a main focus to keep things from being akward. An example was about Soul's condition after Crona attacked him, as she had come to his room and begged him to tell her something she knew he wasn't telling.

"Umm... I just wanted to talk to you about Crona, but if this isn't a good time..." She left her sentence unfinished, her blush become more evident. It was then Stein realized the problem: he wasn't wearing a shirt. He almost smirked to himself. This was just her reaction to him shirtless. He was knowledgeable about human nature, and such a reaction from something so insignificant as him missing a shirt meant she obviously has a crush on him. Though he had figured that out a long time ago.

"Oh no, don't go." He walked over and grabbed his shirt, pulling it over his head and adjusting the sleeves. He didn't want Maka to leave. Despite his twisted nature, he rather liked her company. She was always able to drag him out of a bad mood, and being so impatient to see him means the reason must have been important. He sat on his bed and patted the spot beside him. "What is it Maka?"

Maka slowly walked in, taking a seat next to him on his bed, still blushing slightly. "Well, it just seems that Crona is acting a bit odd. I mean, I can usually get him to smile while talking to him, but now he just looks at me somberly and turns away. He never goes with the group when we go out and we can't even drag him out of his home. It's like he's trying to get away from us. When I try to talk to him in public he walks away hurriedly and ignores me. At school he always ignores me and just doesn't talk to anybody. I think there's something wrong."

Stein took a moment to think about what she said. This wasn't like Crona. Even if he distances himself from the rest of the group, he's always had some kind of connection with Maka, allowing her to become close to him. Now he was pushing her away as well, which wasn't like him. If Stein didn't know better, he'd say the boy had been in love with Maka, but he knew better. It was just that Maka had connected with Crona in such a way that he thinks she's the only one that truly understands him. So why would he push her away now? "You're right Maka, it isn't like him. I'll get right on it, it sounds serious. Is that all?"

"Well no, it isn't. I'm also worried about Soul."

"Soul?" Stein was genuinely surprised.

"It just seems like he's been acting odd too. He's always disappearing at night, going somewhere. He won't tell me where and keeps coming home with some kind of... perfume... on him..." She spoke slower as her eyes glowed with realization. "...Oh..."

Stein cocked an eyebrow. "Maka, I think he just has a secret girlfriend."

Maka sighed, her shoulders drooping. "Yeah, I just got that."

"You didn't figure it out sooner?"

"Well I was more or less still shocked by the fact that Soul wouldn't tell me where he was going. I mean, we're weapon and meister after all, he shouldn't be keeping secrets from me."

Stein smiled playfully. "Maybe he thought you'd be jealous."

Maka blushed and glared at him. "Why would I be jealous?"

"Well people tell me all the time that you two seem like the perfect couple, and I thought you genuinely had feeling for him."

Maka's face was now bright red. "No! I don't, it's not like that!"

Stein tilted his head slightly and his smile widened. Teasing Maka was fun, he could see why Soul did it. "Well why are you always staring at him and hitting him when he acts like a pervert towards other girls?"

Maka glared at her peer, blushing even more. "Because I'm his meister and he's an idiot! His constant perverted nature annoys me, and the only reason I like him is because he looks like you!" Right after Maka said this she immediately realized the significance of what came out of her mouth. Her anger disappeared completely and was replaced by utter embarrassment. And the moment of dead air between them was not helping. "Gah! That's not what I meant. I mean, he does look like you yes, but that's not why I like him. I mean it's not that I don't like the way you look, it just isn't the reason I like him! I mean, I like how he looks like you, but it's not like that I ju-" She was completely shocked when Stein grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug, and she almost buried herself in his warmth.

"Maka, stop talking. I get it, it's normal for girls to have a crush on one of their teachers as a kid."

Maka immediately jumped back out of his arms, still blushing profusely. "No! I don't have a crush on you, it's just-"

Stein raised a hand, silencing her. "You don't have to explain yourself. Girls often have crushes on their teachers, it's just something that happens. It doesn't mean you're weird. It's just your hormones telling you that you love me." Then, making his voice as joking as his monotone voice could be. "Although, if you're sure, I could give you a little kiss."

Maka flushed the deepest red Stein had ever seen. "N-no!"

Stein chuckled at her reaction and walked over to the chair, taking his coat and slipping it on. "Thank you for telling me about Crona, I'll look into it as soon as is convenient. And thank you for coming over, you got me out of my sour mood."

Maka smiled lightly, blushing. "It's nothing..."

Stein walked over and smiled. "Really, thank you. I'm glad you came over."

Maka's blush deepened and she got up. "Well I better get going before Soul thinks you've done something to me. I'll see you later Professor Stein."

Stein twisted his screw once again and walked Maka to the door. "See ya." When they reached the door Maka suddenly jumped at him, wrapping her arms around him and slamming her lips into his. He stood there, a combination of shock and being out of his element rendering him immobile. Then, before he could react, she disappeared out the door, shutting it behind her. Stein stood there for a few minutes, a bunch of different thoughts zooming through his head. Finally he reached up and twisted his screw yet again, sighing. "I really hope this doesn't affect her school work."

* * *

And done! This is my first time making a story for this pairing, but I must admit it's kind of cute ^_^

And to those who read this story and say "Hey! You should be working on your other two stories, not making new ones. And where the hell have you been", I'm sorry, but I promise I'll get back to those stories as soon as is convenient. I really am sorry for disappearing, but I've had absolutely no time to write, AT ALL. But I promise to you, I WILL get those stories going again... eventually.

And take a good look, Stein and Soul do have some similarities... like their hair and build.


End file.
